It’s been quite a journey for the University of Tennessee at Martin’s designated hitter Phil Sorensen, and his debut college season was capped off

It’s been quite a journey for the University of Tennessee at Martin’s designated hitter Phil Sorensen, and his debut college season was capped off with a spot on the Collegiate Baseball Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team.
The Erie, Pa., native joins Wes Patterson (2008) as the only Skyhawks to earn the right to be called Freshman All-Americans.
Sorensen is one of seven designated hitters recognized by Collegiate Baseball and is one of four Ohio Valley Conference players on the list.
“This is really a great honor,” UT Martin head coach Bubba Cates said. “You couldn’t have written a better story as Phil’s coming out of high school. He was a walk-on for us and he got the opportunity to play because of some tough injuries.
“He made the most of his opportunity and we couldn’t take him out of the lineup because he was so good for us.”
After tallying just four at-bats in the season’s first seven games, Sorensen entered the lineup at third base after Matt Haynes suffered an injury on Feb. 27, in a game against Indiana State.
Sorensen immediately made his presence felt in the UT Martin lineup, reeling off an eight-game hitting streak, including a four-RBI effort against South Dakota State and a three-RBI game against Purdue.
In the Skyhawks’ OVC opening series against Jacksonville State, Soren-sen went 4-for-5 for his first career four-hit outing.
Two weeks later, he added another four-hit performance to his journal, driving in six runs in a 20-14 slugfest triumph over SIU Edwardsville.
Overall, the 6-1, 208-pound left-handed hitter produced 12 multi-hit games and seven multiple-RBI games during the 2011 campaign.
He was the only freshman to be named on the league’s first team after hitting .340 in 147 at-bats this spring.
He racked up 15 doubles and hit four homers, driving in 33 runs while sporting a team-best .537 slugging percentage and reaching base at an even .400 clip.
Sorensen helped lead UT Martin to its first OVC Tournament appearance since 1996 and its first OVC Tournament win in program history.
UTM defeated Eastern Kentucky on May 26 at Pringles Park in Jackson in the OVC tourney.

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